Rail anchor



- 1,461,260 R. BLAIR RAIL ANCHOR July 10, 1923- Filed June 5, 1922 Patented July 10, 1923..

units ROLANDIQ A. BLAIR, OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE 1? 6c M COMPANY,

.OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

RAIL anionoa.

Application filed June 5,

T oall'whomitma-y concern: 7

Be it known that I, ROLANDIS A. BLAIR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Wa ne, in the county of Allen and State of ndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Anchors, of which the following is a specification.-

My invention relates to rail anchorin devices and has for its object, the provision of a new and improved rail anchor which when applied to a railroad rail, in a position to abut against a stationary partof the roadbed, will prevent the rail moving longitudinally in the direction of the tratlic passing over it, and which will not be loo-sened or displaced by the vibration of the rail, counter-creeping, or other influences to which devices of this character are subject-. ed while in service.

A specific object of the invention is to provide an improved one-piece rail anchor which may be applied to rails having base flanges of difierent widths and thicknesses, which will grip opposite edges of a rail base, naintain its initial osition on a rail by sp ing pressure and w ic-h will be inexpensive to manufacture.

A further and more specific object of the invention is the provision of a one-piece rail anchor embodying the new and improved constructions hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out the above stated objects and such other objects as will appear from the following description.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawing,

I wherein- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the rail anchor constructed in accordance with my invention applied in its operative position on a railroad rail.

Fig. 2 is a side view in elevation of the.

rail anchor shown in Fig. 1, the same being illustrated in its operative position on a rail. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the rail anchor in one of its positions assumed during its application to a rail.

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of the rail anchor shown in the three preceding figures. Fig. 5 is a view in perspective. on a smaller scale, of the metal from whichthe anchor is formed.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the five figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates 1922. Serial Nm 565,821.

a railroad rail and 11 oneof the cross-ties,

on which the rail is supported.

The rail anchor is preferably made by bending a bar of steel to the form shown in Fig. 4 to provide ahook-shaped jaw portion 12, adapted to fit over one of the base flanges of the rail, an upstanding portion 13 for engaging the other edge of the rail base, and i a tie abutting portion 14: adapted to bear against one of the vertical faces of the. cross tie 11 when the anchor is in its applied position. The steel bar from which the anchor is formed, is preferably square in cross section and is bent at its middle to provide two substantially parallel legs 15 and 16, as shown in Fig. 5. The bent portion 17 of the bar is bent upwardly on the line 18 to provide the hook shaped jaw 12, the extremity of the le '15 is bent upward on line 19 to provide t e upstanding abutment 13, and the extremity of the leg 16 is bent downwardly and outwardly on line 20 to provide the tie abuttin foot 14. The portion of the bar 16 beneat the jaw 12' is bent up wardly, as indicated by the reference numeral 21 in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, so as to normally stand above the upper edge of the adjacent portion of the leg 15 when the anchor is free of the rail. The recess defined by the lower edge of jaw 12 and the upper edge of the portion 21 of leg 16 is normally less than the thickness of the rail base so that the portion of the leg 16 defining said recess will be distorted during the application of the device to the railand will, therefore, exert a spring grip on the upper and lower surfaces of the rail base, when the. anchor is in its operative position.

With the above construction, the maximum distortion efiected during the application of the anchor to a rail, is confined to theportions of the leg 16 defining the recess receiving the base flange, these portions of the leg 16 being-indicated in Fig. 2 by the reference numerals 22 and 23. The distance between the inner face of the abutment 13 and the vertical surface 24 of the jaw 12 is preferably slightly greater than the width of the rail base so as to accommodate rails of varying widths. If there is any appreciable clearance between the said surfaces ting portion 14 is preferably bent at an angle with relation to the leg 15 so that it will bear fiatwise against the tie 11 when the anchor is in its normal diagonal. position.

In applying the anchor to arail, the jaw '12 is fitted over one of the base flanges of to take a shackle hold on opposite edges ofthe railbase by driving the end' 13 of the anchor toward the tie 11. During the application of the anchor to a rail, the leg 15 of the anchor is stressed,though this stress is somewhat relieved when the abutment 13 snaps over the opposite edge of the rail base. The portions 22 and 23 of leg 16 will also be stressed during the application of theanchor to the rail and will maintain their maximum distortion when the anchor is in its applied position, thereby insuring a firm spring grip gn the upper and lower surfaces of the rail ase.

While I have described my invention in a specific embodiment, it will be obvious that various structural changes might be made in a device of this character without departure from the spirit of the invention. I therefore Wish it understood that 1 contemplate all such structures as come within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A one piece rail anchor formed at one end with means for engaging one edge of a rail base and at the other with a jaw portion for receiving the other edge of the rail base, the extremity of which projects below said jaw to provide a tie abutment; said aw portion being adapted to be distorted when the device is applied to a rail 'to effect aspring grip of the jaw on the rail.

2. A one piece rail anchor formed with means for engaging one edge of a rail base and with a jaw portion defining a recess for receiving the other edge of the rail base and terminating in a tie abutment; said jaw portion being so formed that the vertical'dimensions of a portion of said recess are less than the corresponding vertical dimensions of the rail base, whereby said jaw is distorted when in its applied position on a rail.

3. A one piece rail anchor formed with means for engaging one edge of'a rail and with a jaw portiondefining a recess for receiving the other edge of the rail base and terminating in a tie abutment; said jaw'portion being so formed that the vertical dimensions of a portion of said recess are less than the corresponding vertical dimensions of the rail basewhereby the jaw is distorted during its application to a rail and receives aanaeo its maximum distortion when the anchor is driven-home to its applied position.

4; A rail anchor formed from a metal bar bent to provide means for engaging one edge ofa rail base, a double jaw portion for engaging the other edge of the rail base, and a tie abutment, said anchor being adapted to assume a diagonal position across the rail to efiect a shackle hold on opposite edges of the rail base.

5. A rail anchor formed from a metal bar bent to provide means for engaging one edge of a rail base, a double jaw portion for engaging the other edge of the rail base, and a tie abutment, said anchor being adapted to assume a diagonal position across the rail to efiect a shackle hold on opposite edges of th rail base and said jaw portion being distorted during the application of the device to the rail, whereby said jaw portion exerts a spring grip on the upper and lower surfaces of the rail base.

6. A rail anchor comprising a body having an abutment for engaging one edge of a rail base, .a jaw portion for engaging the other'edge of the rail base, and a tie abutment; said device being formed from a singe metal bar by bending the same upon itself to provide two legs, both legs adjacent said end being bent upwardly and inwardly to provide said jaw portion, the extremity of one of said legs being bent upward to provide said abutment for one edge of the rail, and the extremity of the other leg being bent to provide said tie abutment.

7. A rail anchor comprising a body having an abutmentfor engaging one edge of a rail base, a resilient jaw portion for engaging the other edge of the rail base adapted to exert spring pressure against thenpper and lower surfaces of the rail base when the device is applied to a rail, and a tie abutment; said device being formed from a single metal bar by bending the same upon itself to provide two legs, both legs adjacent said bend being bent upwardly and inwardly to provide said jaw ortion, the extremity of one of said legs being bent u wardly to provide said abutment for one e ge of the rail, and the extremity of the other leg being bent to provide said tie abutment.

8; A rail anchor formed from a bar bent upon itself to provide two legs, one of which extends across the rail base and is formed with means for engaging opposite IBdQIGS of the. rail base, the otherleg being" bent to provide a resilient jaw to engage one of the base flanges of the rail and terminating in a tie -abutting foot.

9. A rail anchor formed from a metal bar bent upon itself to provide two legs, one of which extends across the rail base and is formed with means for engaging opposite edges of the rail base with a shackle hold, the other leg being bent to provide a resilient jaw to engage one of the base flanges of the rail and terminating in a tie abutting foot.

10. A rail anchor formed from a steel bar bent upon itself to provide two legs, one of which extends across the rail base and is formed with means for engaging opposite edges of the rail base with a shackle hold, the other leg being bent to provide a resilient/jaw defining a recess to receive one of the base flanges of-the rail and to rovide a tie abutting foot; the opening in saidxreoess being normally less than the thickness of the rail base, whereby said jaw isdistorted when the device is applied to a rail,

11. A rail anchor formed from a steel bar, square in cross section, bent upon itself to provide two legs, one of whichextends across the rail baseand is formed with means for engagin opposite edges of the rail base with a shack e hold, the other leg being bent to provide a resilient jaw portion comprising upper and lower members which engage the upper and lower surfaces of the rail base and terminate in an outwardly extending portion adapted to bear against a cross tie, the distance between the upper and lower members of said jaw being normally less than the thickness of the rail base and adapted to be spread apart when the anchor is in its applied position on a rail.

12. A rail anchor formed from a bar bent upon itself to,provide two legs, one of which extends across the rail base and is formed with means for engaging opposite edges of the rail base, the other leg being bent to provide a resilient jaw to engage one of the base flanges of the rail.

13. A rail anchor comprising a bar toextend under the base of a rail provided atone end with means for engaging one edge of the rail base and at the other with two jaws having a sprin relation with res set to each other, one 0 said jaws being 0 set with re-. spect to the other, so that the anchor is strained when both jaws are in engagement with the rail.

14. A rail anchor comprising a bar to extend under the base of rail provided at one end with means for engaging oneedge of the rail base and at the other with two contiguous jaws having a spring relation with respect to each other, one of said jaws being offset with respect to the other, so that the anchor is strained when both jaws are in engagement with the rail.

15. A rail anchor consisting of a single bar of metal, one end of which is bent to provide means for engaging one edge of the base of a rail, and the other end bent to form two jaws for engagement with the other edge of the rail base, one of said jaws being in resilient relationwith the other and ofiset with respect thereto so that the anchor is strained when both jaws are in engagement with .the rail.

contiguous jaws for engagement with the other edge of the rail base, one of said jaws being in resilient relation with the other and offset with respect thereto so that the anchor is strained when both jaws are in engagement with the rail.

17. A rail anchor comprising abar to extend under the base of a rail provided at one end with means for engaging one edge 1 of the rail base and at the other with two than the portion of the rail base it is in tended to engage, and being expansible to receive said rail base,

19. A rail anchor comprising-a bar to ex tend under the base of a rail provided at one end with means for engaging one edge of the rail base and at the other with two con-V tiguous jaws having a spring relation with 21. A rail anchor formed from a bar bent upon itself to provide two legs, one of which is bent to provide a hook shaped jaw to engage one edge of a rail base and the other providing a spring portion adapted to bear against the under surface of said rail base adjacent the said hook-shaped jaw.

22. A rail anchor formed from a bar bent upon itself to provide two legs, both of which are bent to form two contiguous hooksha ed jaw portions for engaging the upper sur ace of a rail base at one side of the rail, one of said legs being formed with a shoulder for engaging the vertical *edge of the rail base at the opposite side of the rail.

23. A rail anchor composed of a bar bent upon itself to provide two legs and formed at one end of the device with means for engaging one edge of a rail base, both of said legs, at the other end of the device,

being bentto provide two spring jaws adapted to hook over and bear against the upper inclined surface of the rail base.

24. A rail anchor composed of a bar bent upon itself to provide two legs and formed at one end of the device with means for engaging one'edge of a rail base, both of said legs, at the other end of the anchor, being bent to provide two spring jaws adapted to hook over and bear at substantially their ends against the upper inclined surface of the rail base.

reenaeo other when the anchor is applied to a rail.

ROLANDES A. BLAIR. 

